When I landed in Wilmington 10 years ago and found myself at my first oyster roast, I didn't know what to expect. How do I shuck an oyster? How do I eat it? I stood away from the table and the steaming pile of shells and watched. After getting the gist, I dove in, and I've been hooked ever since.

To me, oyster roasts are the ultimate off-season beach party – everybody's grabbing and eating and laughing and you always make friends with someone shucking across the table from you. Shuckin' Shack's new downtown Wilmington location (they're also in Carolina Beach) feels like an oyster roast stuffed into a tiny restaurant.

Before I even walked in the door I knew I was going to order a dozen oysters on the half shell, but I wasn't sure what else Shuckin' Shack would offer. Turns out, it's a lot. The menu has about two dozen entrée selections ranging from steamed oysters and shrimp to clams, mussels, crab legs, steam pots and platters; they also have a small selection of sandwiches and baskets.

When my dozen on the half-shell came out, they looked good: Stump Sound oysters split and swimming in oyster liquor (that delicious liquid inside the shell that's so flavorful and briny) on a bed of ice. A squeeze of lemon over the top and they were ready to go. I brought the first one to my mouth and slurped it down. Almost. Even though it was shucked, it was still attached to the shell and I had to pull it off with my teeth. A few oysters hadn't been shucked correctly and had bits of shell on the oyster or in the liquor. Oysters on the half shell should be clean inside and out – no dirt, sand, mud or grit, and no bits of shell – and fully detached so you can slurp them down.

I'm a lobster roll fan and was surprised to find it on the menu here. The lobster was flavorful, but the squirt of mustard across the top added far too much spice. Additionally, the roll itself wasn't toasted. This may seem like a small thing, but it's not. The roll should be crunchy and buttery and play off the cool, meaty lobster.

The peel and eat shrimp were mostly good, but our order was wrong – we asked for lemon pepper shrimp and got Old Bay instead – and a couple were overcooked and tough.

Service at Shuckin' Shack is very friendly, though a little scattered. The small restaurant incorporates a dumbwaiter system to get food from the upstairs kitchen to the street-level dining room. According to our server, if the dumbwaiter isn't closed correctly, the lift won't go up, causing delays in food getting to the customers. It was clear that the service suffered from this setup.

On Sunday, Shuckin' Shack offers all-you-can-eat steamed oysters. With six TVs playing football and a bar shoulder-to-shoulder with enthusiastic fans, it took on the atmosphere of an oyster roast. I cozied up to the bar with a friend and we ordered the you-shuck, all-you-can-eat special, some wings and hushpuppies. The hushpuppies were excellent and the wings are some of the best in town, but I came for the oysters.

The first bucket of oysters came and they were great – hot, juicy, the perfect size. A little hot sauce or cocktail sauce and they were delicious. We ordered the second bucket and the dumbwaiter issues caused them to be delayed a bit. By the time they arrived, they'd lost a significant amount of heat. On the third bucket, I found an oyster or two with muddy shells, but the flavor and doneness of the oysters was consistently good. I ate more than my fair share of oysters – somewhere in the area of 60 oysters in the course of one football game – but my barstool neighbor put on a clinic and ate north of 120 in the same time span (the record is 144 in one sitting, if you're counting).

The issue with the all-you-can-eat steamed oysters is this: It gets crowded in the Shuckin' Shack and the space is small, which means service suffers. Despite several requests for drawn butter and horseradish for the oysters, it never came. When my neighbor took pity on me and gave me extra butter his party had, the bartender promptly spilled it when he sat my bloody mary right on top of it. A few times we were asked to pass something to the table behind us – menus, silverware, even an order of oysters on the half shell.

On the whole, Shuckin' Shack has some kinks to work out. Even so, I could see myself going back for playoff football, oysters and chicken wings.

<p>Where I'm from, oysters come from a can. They're rubbery little things that bear no resemblance to the oysters here. </p><p>When I landed in Wilmington 10 years ago and found myself at my first oyster roast, I didn't know what to expect. How do I shuck an oyster? How do I eat it? I stood away from the table and the steaming pile of shells and watched. After getting the gist, I dove in, and I've been hooked ever since.</p><p>To me, oyster roasts are the ultimate off-season beach party – everybody's grabbing and eating and laughing and you always make friends with someone shucking across the table from you. Shuckin' Shack's new downtown Wilmington location (they're also in Carolina Beach) feels like an oyster roast stuffed into a tiny restaurant.</p><p>Before I even walked in the door I knew I was going to order a dozen oysters on the half shell, but I wasn't sure what else Shuckin' Shack would offer. Turns out, it's a lot. The menu has about two dozen entrée selections ranging from steamed oysters and shrimp to clams, mussels, crab legs, steam pots and platters; they also have a small selection of sandwiches and baskets.</p><p>When my dozen on the half-shell came out, they looked good: Stump Sound oysters split and swimming in oyster liquor (that delicious liquid inside the shell that's so flavorful and briny) on a bed of ice. A squeeze of lemon over the top and they were ready to go. I brought the first one to my mouth and slurped it down. Almost. Even though it was shucked, it was still attached to the shell and I had to pull it off with my teeth. A few oysters hadn't been shucked correctly and had bits of shell on the oyster or in the liquor. Oysters on the half shell should be clean inside and out – no dirt, sand, mud or grit, and no bits of shell – and fully detached so you can slurp them down.</p><p>I'm a lobster roll fan and was surprised to find it on the menu here. The lobster was flavorful, but the squirt of mustard across the top added far too much spice. Additionally, the roll itself wasn't toasted. This may seem like a small thing, but it's not. The roll should be crunchy and buttery and play off the cool, meaty lobster. </p><p>The peel and eat shrimp were mostly good, but our order was wrong – we asked for lemon pepper shrimp and got Old Bay instead – and a couple were overcooked and tough. </p><p>Service at Shuckin' Shack is very friendly, though a little scattered. The small restaurant incorporates a dumbwaiter system to get food from the upstairs kitchen to the street-level dining room. According to our server, if the dumbwaiter isn't closed correctly, the lift won't go up, causing delays in food getting to the customers. It was clear that the service suffered from this setup.</p><p>On Sunday, Shuckin' Shack offers all-you-can-eat steamed oysters. With six TVs playing football and a bar shoulder-to-shoulder with enthusiastic fans, it took on the atmosphere of an oyster roast. I cozied up to the bar with a friend and we ordered the you-shuck, all-you-can-eat special, some wings and hushpuppies. The hushpuppies were excellent and the wings are some of the best in town, but I came for the oysters. </p><p>The first bucket of oysters came and they were great – hot, juicy, the perfect size. A little hot sauce or cocktail sauce and they were delicious. We ordered the second bucket and the dumbwaiter issues caused them to be delayed a bit. By the time they arrived, they'd lost a significant amount of heat. On the third bucket, I found an oyster or two with muddy shells, but the flavor and doneness of the oysters was consistently good. I ate more than my fair share of oysters – somewhere in the area of 60 oysters in the course of one football game – but my barstool neighbor put on a clinic and ate north of 120 in the same time span (the record is 144 in one sitting, if you're counting).</p><p>The issue with the all-you-can-eat steamed oysters is this: It gets crowded in the Shuckin' Shack and the space is small, which means service suffers. Despite several requests for drawn butter and horseradish for the oysters, it never came. When my neighbor took pity on me and gave me extra butter his party had, the bartender promptly spilled it when he sat my bloody mary right on top of it. A few times we were asked to pass something to the table behind us – menus, silverware, even an order of oysters on the half shell.</p><p>On the whole, Shuckin' Shack has some kinks to work out. Even so, I could see myself going back for playoff football, oysters and chicken wings.</p><p>Features: 343-2343</p>